For the source text click/tap here: Moed Katan 14
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On our Daf a braisa is cited which states: One rends the clothes of a minor whose relative has passed away, due to the desire to bring about feelings of grief among those who see him? However, there is no inherent requirement for the minor to observe any of the halakhot of mourning.
Rashi suggests the child evokes others to participate in the mourning and add to the honor of the deceased.
We explore what childhood trauma such as loss does later in life (PTSD) as well as the new field of epigenetics whereby massive trauma is transmitted to the next generation based on Prof Rachel Yehudah's landmark studies on World Trade Center disaster survivors and Holocaust survivors.